AG says man refused to comply before Walpole shooting

Related

WALPOLE - The officer-involved shooting death of a Grafton man occurred after the man refused commands from the police officers to get out of his vehicle and comply with their orders, said senior assistant Attorney General Janice K. Rundles Thursday.

Rundles stayed mum on other details surrounding the death of Larry A. Bohannon, 51, of Grafton, citing the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Bohannon died from gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen March 29.

Bohannon had allegedly robbed a stationary store at gunpoint in Bellows Falls, Vt., earlier that day. When he fled into New Hampshire, Alstead and Walpole officers pursued his vehicle until they were able to stop him on Upper Walpole Road in Walpole, where the shooting occurred.

Rundles would not identify the shooter, only saying that Alstead and Walpole officers were the only police on the scene.

When asked if the shooter had been placed on leave, Rundles said she would only speak generally about protocol.

"When an officer is involved in the discharging of a firearm and results in either the death or injury of another person," the officer is relieved from duty, "until he or she is ready to go back to regular police work," she said.

Rundles would not comment on whether Bohannon had a firearm.

"We're not releasing any further details surrounding the shooting yet," she said.

Results of the investigation are expected to be released early next week, she said.

Along with the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the investigation is "also looking into his background," Rundles said.

Lebanon police Lt. Phil Roberts said Thursday that his department is looking into whether Bohannon committed two unsolved armed robberies that took place in March. In both the March 8 robbery of the Little Store on School Street and the March 27 robbery of the Family Dollar store in the Miracle Mile Plaza, witnesses said a white man, about 6 feet tall, brandished a handgun and demanded money.

When asked if Bohannon was being investigated for unsolved Keene crimes, Keene police referred questions to the Attorney General's Office.

Bohannon had a criminal record. In 1994 he received two concurrent 20-year sentences for a kidnapping conviction in Sullivan County and a bail-jumping conviction out of Cheshire County.

Bohannon was first paroled on the sentences in 1996 then returned to jail two more times for technical parole violations. He had been wanted as a fugitive from justice since July 2011 when he failed to meet with his parole officer.